The North West Shelf Venture has today celebrated the completion of its $2.6 billion, phase five liquefied natural gas expansion project at a special ceremony in Karratha.
The North West Shelf Venture has today celebrated the completion of its $2.6 billion, phase five liquefied natural gas expansion project at a special ceremony in Karratha.
Premier Colin Barnett and Federal Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson were also present at the ceremony.
Senior government, industry, community and Joint Venture representatives gathered at the North West Shelf Venture's Karratha Visitors' Centre to commemorate the completion of the project which began in August 2005.
The Phase V LNG Expansion Project includes a fifth LNG processing train capable of producing up to 4.4 million tonnes annually, a jetty extension and second LNG loading berth, two additional power generation units, a third fractionation unit, a new fuel gas compressor, an acid gas removal unit and a third boil-off gas compressor.
Woodside's Executive Vice President North West Shelf, Eve Howell, said the completion of the Phase V Project was a major achievement and LNG production from Train 5 was now underway.
"Projects of this scale involve significant commitment and cooperation at many levels, both at the project team level as well as with government, industry and community stakeholders, and Phase V is a fine example of collaborative endeavour," Ms Howell said.
"Thanks to the efforts of everyone involved in safely and successfully completing this project, Train 5 was able to begin LNG production last month ahead of the project schedule, and is now supporting delivery to customers in North Asia."
Ms Howell said the Phase V Project had made a significant contribution to Australian industry, particularly in Western Australia through the creation of local employment and opportunities for suppliers.
"During Phase V about 1800 people were employed at the peak of construction activity, and the project has contributed approximately A$1.6 billion in expenditure that has directly benefited Australian industry," she said.
"The project also donated A$300,000 to local charities and community groups in Karratha including the Salvation Army, Karratha Education Support Centre and the Royal Flying Doctor Service. A portion of these funds were raised directly by project employees who generously donated their personal rewards for achieving safety targets."
The six equal participants in the North West Shelf Project are BHP Billiton Petroleum (North West Shelf) Pty Ltd, BP Developments Australia Pty Ltd, Chevron Australian Pty Ltd, Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty Ltd, Shell Development (Australia) Pty Ltd and Operator Woodside Energy Ltd. The China National Offshore Oil Corporation is also part of the North West Shelf Venture but does not have an interest in its infrastructure.
